Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked August 2022: the five biggest announcements

Samsung has just wrapped its latest Galaxy Unpacked event where, as expected, it announced two foldables, new smartwatches, and an update to its Galaxy Buds Pro line. While the company didn’t surprise us too much with what was announced, the updates seem like quality refinements across the board — though, as always, you should wait for full reviews of the products to see if they’re truly meaningful improvements.

Read on to learn more about what was announced.

The Galaxy Z Flip 4 is an iterative update to Samsung’s flip-phone-esque foldable

The Z Flip 4 looks a lot like its predecessor — and yes, it still flips down like the flip phones of days gone by. But there are a few new software tricks, like seeing selfie previews on the cover screen that will be in the same aspect ratio as the image itself and fast charging, which can charge the phone up to 50 percent in about 30 minutes. The phone starts at $999, and you can preorder it today ahead of availability on August 26th.

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 isn’t too different, either, but it has better cameras

Samsung also isn’t changing things too much with the Galaxy Z Fold 4. The design is largely the same, though it’s a hair lighter than before, and Samsung made some big changes to the camera array, including a new 50-megapixel main sensor. But, starting at $1,799, it’s still a costly phone. You can preorder it today, and it will be available on August 26th.

The Galaxy Watch 5 smartwatches have bigger batteries

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 series was dinged for its poor battery life, but the company is aiming to fix that with bigger batteries in the Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro. It’s also got a body temperature sensor, something that’s rumored to come to the Apple Watch this year as well. The Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro are available to preorder today and will begin shipping on August 26th.

The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are a bit more expensive, but they have a new design and support hi-fi audio

Samsung’s new Galaxy Buds 2 Pro have a new design that’s 15 percent smaller than the original pair and support 24-bit hi-fi audio over Bluetooth. But those updates come at a higher price — the buds cost $229.99, a $30 premium from the original Galaxy Buds Pro. You can preorder them today ahead of their release on August 26th.

Samsung’s new products use more recycled materials

Samsung also discussed how it incorporates recycled materials into the designs of the products announced at the event. For example, it now repurposes fishing nets in the materials used to make the Z-series foldables and the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. Samsung says it now uses recycled fishing nets in 11 of its devices.